wednesday, september 1, shaping up to be a busy first day of september. i am alison starling. >> i am pamela brown. great to have you with us. time for traffic and weather every ten minutes. we start with meteorologist adam caskey. we have an update. >> it is a category 3 storm, downgraded. on the high end of a category three. maximum sustained winds of 125 miles an hour. it is 70 degrees in springfield, 68 in gainesville, 67 in upper marlboro. total sunshine again today, just like yesterday, 95 degrees. not oppressively humid. air quality little better today, "orange. tomorrow it will be the 59th 90-degree day.

slow traffic on 95 in virginia northbound at the prince william parkway. we are going to see if there is any delay for news choppers 7. -- newschopper 7. baltimore washington parkway. leaving and going into laurel, it is nothing but volume. back to you. >> thank you. our top story, a bracing for hurricane earl. an hour ago the storm was downgraded to a category three. if it is still on track to skirt the east coast. state leaders up and down the atlantic are not taking chances. today virginia will go into emergency mode to prepare for whatever it could bring. courtney robinson is live in a satellite center with more details. what is the latest?

>> a hurricane watch is in place for n.c. and virginia coast. it has been almost 20 years since the hurricane had so much of the eastern seaboard in its sights. hurricane earl blue through the caribbean at 135 miles an hour, ves off andh roof leaving people without clean drinking water. it is expected to parallel the east coast, possibly pressing the outer banks of north carolina. officials are preparing. many beachgoers are evacuating. in ocean city, maryland, officials worry that conditions will worsen in the next days. lifeguards have rescued many swimmers the past few days from dangerous recurrence. if >> suddenly i was scared. i was really getting scared. but they got me out. >> virginia is also bracing, getting ready for a state of

emergency. current projections put earl 200 miles off of virginia beach. it is too close for comfort because there could be huygens and a possible surge -- there could be high winds. >> sometimes these storms speed up on you and we don't want people caught by surprise. >> looks like bill anglin will experience more of its wrath. if it should pack up late thursday, hitting the northern regions by frsaturday. -- looks like new england will .xperience more of its wrath these pictures were taken by de international space station astronauts. the second one taken 10 hours after the first.

watch more of these at tbd.com. defense secretary robert gates is meeting with u.s. troops at an airbase west of baghdad. he flew to iraq from milwaukee, widow of the american legion that many of iraq posed problems are still unsolved. secretary gates arrived hours after president obama's said the u.s. combat mission in iraq is over. >> operation iraqi freedom is over. the iraqi people have lead responsibility for the security of their country. >> the president said the u.s. commitment to a stable and self- reliant iraq will continue. all combat troops have left iraq after more than seven years on the ground. 50,000 service members will stay to help train iraqi security forces. >> some >who fought -- some leaders who fought to stop the troop surge are probably now taking credit for the results. >> republicans say the u.s.

success in iraq is not because of president obama but in spite of him. five minutes after the hour. we look at this day ahead. president obama is opening a new round of mideast peacemaking, bringing israeli and palestinian leaders together for talks in washington. a long and complicated timeline. >> for the first time in nearly two years, the israelis and palestinians will sit down for direct talks aimed at ending their decades-long bitter conflict. today at the white house president obama will meet separately with the israeli prime minister netanyahu and the palestinian president abbas. if tomorrow the leaders will sit down together with secretary of state clinton. without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles. >> the scene this week in washington will look familiar.

the united states and the israelis and palestinians have been down this road many times. 17 years ago the peace accords in oslo formally launched the peace process. now there is still no final agreement. >> much more on the line than before. >> the obama administration wants to advance the peace process, not hinder it. >> the fbi is backing off assertions that the two men being held in the netherlands were involved in a terrorist plot. this amateur video shows the man being led off a plane in amsterdam after suspicious items were found in their luggage. investigators first thought the men were taking a test run for terror attack. now the sources say the men did not know each other and when not traveling together. > a computer glitch is

causing problems for virginia residents. the problem began last week and it is not clear and when it will be fixed. virginia state police for now will not take action against drivers whose licence expired between august 25 and september 30. enforcement will begin again on october 1. parents are voicing concerns about the intersection in alexandria where a child was hit by a car and killed. 9-year-old rebecca johns was riding her bicycle on franconia road and cannon lane on monday when she died. the intersection is dangerous and there is no safe place across franconia road in that area. >> it has been a nightmare. people have complained for years about it. all along the franconia corridor up to telegraph, and no response from vdot. >> it's time we have acted on issue after this tragedy.

>> many parents are now saying they will not allow their children to ride a bike or walk on franconia road. coming up later, michelle rhee's effect on the district's race for mayor. there's a loophole that highlights the school chancellor's role. where drivers may want to avoid for in the next month. traffic and

on this wednesday

morning. in the '60s and outlying areas. to low over 70 within the beltway. clear skies this morning. the humidity is not so bad. 65 and warrenton. 67 in woodbridge. 65 in stafford. 68 in martinsburg, 67 in hagerstown, 78 in the district. forecast, and dry, mostly sunny, like the past couple days. "orange inequality. highs in the mid-90s. a few degrees cooler tomorrow, low to mid 90s. cooling off into the weekend, the cold front that moves in on friday. low 80's on saturday and sunday with sunshine. will talk about the latest on hurricane earl in a few minutes. very interesting.

in frederick, md., southbound on 15 at 26 liberty road, if traffic is able to get through after a crash. newschopper 7 is flying over 295 coastal nsa on the late laurel. normal speeds. let's go to a map. no problems on 270, but the volume of traffic leaving 80 to get to 109. virginia, plenty of your neighbors hitting the votes. 95 delays are typical leaving the prince william parkway to route 1, a woodbridge. back to you. >> thank you. d.c. driver's can expect some closures as work continues on 11th street bridge project. vdot will close portions of the bridge, the southeast/southwest

freeway, and 295. that is mondays through fridays at 9:00 at 21:30 p.m. and on sundays. still to come, back-to- school shopping was not enough to save some retail sales. we will have the numbers in the "money scope report." >> two candidates in the race or will debate again today. and a new poll is out.

checking our top stories, hurricane earl has weekends, but the watches are being extended. the virginia coast is under a hurricane watch.

the north carolina barrier islands have been evacuated. president obama paid tribute to america's fighting men and women. 50,000 troops will remain in iraq to help train iraqi security forces. federal agents were back at two in of farms as a result of a salmonella will break. the agency would not say why they were there. returned to the district's race for mayor. the two main candidates get ready for another face-off. another new poll is weighing what effect one of the city's most controversial figures could have on election day. brianne carter is live from northwest with details. what is the latest? >> this race could come down to the wire, leading up to the september 14 primary between adrian fenty and vincent gray.

if the folks at whether or not schools chancellor michelle rhee could have an impact on both of those campaigns. according to the new poll, 41% of registered democrats look at her alert as a reason to reelect mayor adrian fenty. 40% say that this could be a reason why he should be allowed. the poll also look at her leadership. 44% of residents approve of her job performance. 38% disapprove. if she has put forth a number of reform efforts, including closing schools, firing teachers, all of which has come with controversy. if 28% of registered democrats see her has an extremely important role in their votes for mayor. 22% say that she is not very important when they go to cast their ballots. the two candidates will debate later today at the newseum. brianne carter reporting live,

abc 7 news. there is an identity crisis causing some confusion in a d.c. council race. at large councilman phil mendelson is being challenged in the democratic primary by shadow senator michael brown. he has the same name as another d.c. councilman. the other brown according to local, is leading metals and. critics accuse brown of trying to sneak into office, but he said that is not true. gop candidate bob ehrlich says that his campaign raised more than $725,000 in 18 days. from august 11 august 29. his campaign has more than $2.5 million. the incumbent democrat martin o'malley recorded his campaign had more than $6.7 million as of last month. alaska senator lisa murkowski has become the third senator to lose her party's primary this year. >> i am conceding the race for

the republican nomination. >> she conceded to tea party favourite jo miller. she was trailing him by 1700 votes and was not able to close the gap when officials began counting absentee have an outstanding ballots. which hollywood stars are worth it? and back-to-school could not save retail sales. rob nelson has those stories and more from abc. >> we begin with back-to-school shopping falling flat. shoppers spent only slightly more this august than last. most only bought necessities. good news for consumers is the stores may soon offer deeper discounts. home prices in major metro areas rose in june, but prices are expected to fall now that popular government tax credits have expired. some experts predict declines of up to five 20% in some markets. it will soon be easier to get

your hands on amazon kindle before producing one. five staples will begin selling it this fall, joining target as the only retailers selling the device. shaun hill labeouf is one of the actor is giving hollywood the most bang for its buck. they made $81 for every dollar they paid him. >> 72 degrees on this thursday of september. time for traffic and weather. >> hurricane earl could affect your holiday plans this weekend. wexford almost 800,000 washingtonians are headed out of town. most of them are likely going to the beaches on the east coast. that will be affected by this hurricane more than the metro area. we may have a few clouds is all. we should not notice much of a change thursday into friday

because of the hurricane. the category 3 hurricane has been downgraded. it got slightly weaker last night, so it is now a category three with sustained winds of 125 miles an hour. the green is the water vapor. the orange is the dry air getting wrapped into it, one reason why it is gradually weakening. it has encountered an area of dry air along with strong robins locked into the atmosphere, which helped to cut apart the hurricane. it will encounter cooler temperatures. it is anticipated to slowly weaken, but the bus by the of burbank's of north carolina, still as a major hurricane early friday. if in terms of maximum sustained winds, looks like a hurricane force winds will remain offshore.

tropical force winds will brush the outer banks. the waves will be 20- 25 feet close to the shore. we are near 70 degrees right now. 93 degrees tomorrow, 90 on friday. cooler this weekend. this system in the atlantic will drop our temperatures. low humidity this weekend, sonny, looks good. 95 between chrisman and baltimore looks good. northbound and southbound doing ok and you're there was a broken-down vehicles and northbound after the akram juan river, but that was moved to the shoulder right away near route 1. -- northbound after the occoquan river.

in and out of baltimore, moving in an orderly fashion. nothing to worry about on 66. 270 southbound, heavy traffic at route 1, headlights are a outercoat leaving college park going to 270, looks good. 72 degrees on this wednesday morning, 6:22. and a closer look at the pain associated with high heeled shoes. today on "oprah," teen sensation justin bieber hits the stage today at 4:00 on abc 7.

there is actor michael douglas. he received a warm welcome during an appearance on the late show with david letterman last night. he said he'd just finished his first week of radiation and chemotherapy for throats cancer. the treatment will last eight weeks. he is optimistic about his recovery from the disease. 4.acknowledged it is stage >> he looks good. high heeled shoes, researchers have found wearing them regularly can lead to

shortened calf muscle fibers and thicker, stiffer, achilles tendons. that is why some women feel tightness in their cabs when they take off their heels. -- their calves. surgery could drastically cut cut the chances of getting cancer for women who have tested positive for a cancer gene mutation if you have preventative removal of the breast and ovaries. this data demonstrates your people will die from cancer if they go for the ovarian surgery. >> i did a lot of research and talking and crying and i decided to ultimately have my ovaries removed. >> doctors are still looking at what is the optimum age for a woman to have ovaries removed and how to handle that possibly

having her go into menopause prematurely. still another half-hour or ahead. >> coming up on this wednesday, it is pretty controversial, it planned to take young people from the street corners in chinatown. >> we are live in the weather center on this wednesday morning, another hot day in the washington area.

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>> life ended hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> we are getting ready for the big one. a hurricane watches in effect for the virginia coast. coastal residents are getting ready for what ever hurricane earl froze their way. welcome back on this wednesday, the first day of september. i am alison starling. >> i am pamela brown. we begin with traffic and

weather every 10 minutes. adam caskey has the latest on the hurricane. i will also have the weekend forecast coming out. this is thursday night through saturday events. there are dangerous swimming conditions. keep that in mind if you are headed to the beaches. we have new percentages. the chances of a tropical storm force winds in the metro area are about 5%-10%. along the coast, you have about a 30% chance of wind gusts. the outer banks have a 65% chest -- a chance of gale force winds or greater. in terms of hurricane force winds, the outer banks should have a 25% chance. 76 degrees at reagan national airport.

in general, we are in the 60's with told sunshine today and we cool down by the weekend, low 80's and low humidity. it looks like a fantastic holiday weekend on i-95 and the baltimore washington parkway, a minor crash northbound near 32. there are delays out of laurel to get to nsa. we will take you live for traffic out of roslyn across the roosevelt bridge moving at a good pace. >> up and down the east coast, they are bracing for hurricane earl. the category 3 storm is not expected to make landfall in the u.s. but it should sideswipe the coast. any chance for rain, state officials are getting ready. courtney robinson is logged them the bottom line here is that officials don't want

residents are beachgoers to get caught off guard pride we saw the damage that hurricane earl left in the caribbean. power is out for thousands there but there are no reports of deaths or injuries. he evacuations are underway for north carolina's outer banks. in maryland, coastal areas are bracing the hurricane will state roughly 200 miles off virginia beach, close enough to produce tropical force winds, minor flooding, and a possible storm surge. later today, we will see governor bob mcdonnell create a state of emergency for virginia. a watch is in effect for the coast for north carolina and virginia. it is expected to pass late thursday. it has been downgraded to a category three. >> the carolinas to massachusetts, beachgoers are feeling the effects of dangerous swimming conditions. we were there yesterday when

lifeguards in ocean city, maryland rescued a man caught in a breath current. --rip currents. you can track hurricane earl by logging onto our weather web page. the time is 6:34 and we are following a developing story from iraq where defense secretary robert gates is meeting with u.s. troops at an airbase west of baghdad. he flew from will -- from milwaukee where he told the american legion that many of the iraq problems remain unsolved. president barack obama spoke to the nation last night from the oval office and announced and end to the u.s. combat mission in iraq. the president paid great tribute to america's, fighting men and women. he said it is time to turn the page. >> good evening, the announcement was seven years, 30 months, and seven days in the making.

>> the american combat mission in iraq is ending. this was my pledge to the american people as a candidate for this office. last february, i announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of iraq while redoubling our efforts to strengthen the iraq security of forces and support the government and people. >> candidate obama opposed the troops surge. >> some leaders who opposed, criticize, and fought tooth and nail to stop the search now proudly claim credit for the results. >> ending the war is not just in iraq's interest. >> -- our priority is to restore the economy. >> in baghdad, u.s. troops are all but a change of command ceremony to mark the transition from operation iraqi freedom to operation new dawn. 50,000 troops will remain there. looking at the day ahead,

president obama will bring peace to the middle east. he will meet with the israeli prime minister and the palestinian president at the white house. it is the first round of talks in nearly two years. the fda by is backing off assertions that two men being held in the netherlands were being held at a terror plot. this video shows the man being let off the plane in amsterdam after suspicious items were being found in their luggage. investigators thought the men were taking a test run for a terrorist attack. the men did not even know each other. if you live in virginia, you still cannot get or renew a driver's license or id card. this is because of a statewide computer outage for the problem began last week and is still unclear when it will be fixed. for now, virginia state police will not be taking action against drivers whose license expire between august 25-

september 30. enforcement will be reinstated on october 1. there is controversial technology at the gallery place metro station. they install a device known as the mosquito to send an alarm to keep people away. >> i saw cops running down the escalators. if it works, that would be nice. >> the device was installed after a mass of brawl involving teenagers started at that metro stop. >> is interesting that young people can hear it. some people older than 25 have heard it. we will see what happens. still ahead, tony blair's bombshell book has hit

bookstores tells part we will have highlights from his memoirs. >> she could be the x-factor in the district race for mayor. what voters say about michelle rhee's role. >> another check on traffic and weather every 10 minutes. lisa baden will have the latest weather every 10 minutes. lisa baden will have the latest when we co

i think it's greatove about how they put politicss union? above my chi education. it's cool how the union makes it almo impossible to fire bad teachers. it's impressive how my dues money supports politicians i don't even like. dcchers union has failed our kids, played politics, and now is threatening to file a lawsuit to block recent progress. find out more at teachersunionexposed.com/dc.

thanks, teachers unions. >> we are here at the farmer's market in bethesda.

come on down and check us out. good morning, washington. 6:41 on this wednesday morning. this is like the past couple of mornings, a couple of degrees warmer but you will not notice much of a difference. we are in the 70's and outside the beltway, we are in doubt mid-upper 60's. this is a good way to start your wednesday. total sunshine today and it will look and feel like yesterday and the day before and the day before that. we are in a stagnant weather report -- pattern and highs will be in the mid-90's. here is the path for hurricane earl, a category 3 storm that will brush up against the east coast, mainly the outer banks.

we'll tell you about that and the implication for the beach is coming up. route 15 at hayward road, newschopper7 is flying over a crash at southbound 15. this is an accident with a truck that went off the highway. it stopped traffic for a moment to position the tow truck. only one lane is getting through to the left southbound on 15 in frederick, maryland. let's go back to alison and pamela. >> 6:42 is your time. >> coming up, politico has a back at the president's speech last night. >> could michelle repay -- play a role in the race for mayor? we will have a look at a new poll coming up. >> a new book stirs up some old feelings. we will have dealings0

a hurricane watch is now in effect for the virginia coast. hurricane earl continues to move north and governor bob mcdonnell plans to announce a number is giving the police and national guard time to prepare. the hurricane watch comes as earl weakens to a category 3 storm. president obama says it is time to turn the page in iraq. in a speech last night, he said the u.s. combat operations are over after more than seven years. nearly 50,000 u.s. troops will stay in iraq to train and it buys iraqi security forces. former british prime

minister tony blair still thinks it was right to invade iraq and toppled saddam hussein, in his new book, he says he cried for the soldiers and civilians killed in iraq. proceeds from the book will go to injured veterans. is looking like a fight to the finish for the d.c. mayoral race. the candidates will face off in another debate. and i knew washington post poll ways what education place in the race. >> good morning. we are now less than two weeks away from that democratic primary where mayor adrian fenty and vincent gray are fighting it out to the finish for the race for mayor. there is a new poll as to what impact another key figure, school chancellor michelle rate could have on this race. let's look at the numbers. it looks that michelle rhee's

leadership. 44% of residents approve her job performance and 38% are said to disapprove. there have been a number of changes in the district. there have been school closures and the firing of hundreds of teachers. 28% of registered democrats regard her as extremely important in their vote for mayor for a 23% say she is not too important. we expect this will come down to the last ballot in this race. the two candidates are expected to come head to head today. there is another the bed scheduled for later today -- there is another debate scheduled for later today. we turn now to be politico minute. president obama declares the and to the war in iraq. >> we are joined with reaction to this.

they are ending combat operations in a rock. >> i think the reaction to it was a different this was from the usual end of war speech was pretty at the end of world war two, that was a joyous celebration. it was how shocking how little awe there was in obama's page. he has to remind people that he was not in favor of this war. he needs to turn the attention from iraq and afghanistan. he has the big issue of the economy. about 1/3 of the speed on iraq was about the economy because it is a board into the american economy. on almost every level, people

will look back on best. >> there is a lot about malaise in this country. i know you were talking about meghan mccain and her new book. what are the interesting nuggets? >> her book is "a dirty, sexy politics." she has mildly harsh thing to say about sarah palin about the chaos in the campaign. my favorite story in the book is that on a day when john mccain, her father, she got pulled over for a speeding ticket and she started crying. she actually got out of the ticket. for those of us who have parents who run for office and blues, you have one good alibi. >> that should be a funny one to read. thank you very much. it is 6:49 and tied for traffic and weather every 10

minutes. hurricane earl is a category 3 storm and it was downgraded early this morning. there are some stronger winds higher of which tends to cut the storm down. the winds are about 125 miles per hour which makes it a high end category 3 storm. a category 4 storm is 130 miles per hour or more. the orange is dry air. that wraps into the rotation around the world. --earl,. it should continue to slowly weaken over the next couple of days. nevertheless, our latest forecast from the national hurricane center as it may brushing up against the outer banks and to the cape cod area. as a category 3, that should

have an impact. mainly just a few added clouds and the metro area for us. it will kick up the surf quite a bit over the weekend from thursday through the labor day weekend. 50-75 mile per hour winds and we might have some gusts of approaching 50 miles per hour along the eastern shore in ocean city. here is a look at the wind. by the way, this weekend will be fantastic with a lot of sunshine. we have a normal backup on 395 northbound from the belt way to get to king street and across the 14th street bridge. there is lingering row work on the roosevelt bridge. worry, you can take the

bridge because there are no delays. in frederick, maryland the crash is gone. route 15, and earlier truck accident is completely gone at hayward road. we are going to the white house when we return.

as the hurricane bears down the coast, we have been right there. sam champion will be live from the region as to who will be evaluated. next tuesday, the obama administration will hold its first white house event celebrating desperate they have had a focus on the arts recently and some of the best known dance companies will perform in the east room. >> it was a feature of modern, ballet, hip-hop, and broadway. it will feature alvin ailey dancers. quick last look at traffic and weather every 10 minutes. there is an accident eastbound 66 at the belly which will be on the shoulder by the time you get there.

we will take you live into maryland and take a look at to 70 from father hurley boulevard to the lane divide. today and tomorrow it looks like we will hit our 59th 90- degree year -- day of the year. that ties a record3. high and dry the rest of the work week. there would be some gusty winds moving on sure thursday and friday from hurricane earl. otherwise, this weekend if this will drop our temperatures and give us comfortable conditions for the upcoming weekend >> you don't necessarily have to cancel your plans? >> no. >> sound good. that does it for "good morning, washington."

hope